Chapter 441 - 9: November
From obtaining the anniversary gift pack on September 30th until the end of 1662, Chen Zhou was working tirelessly to absorb these materials and apply them reasonably to the island's construction.
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The storage of the two machine tools was the most pressing issue.
Chen Zhou temporarily decided not to further improve his Chen Family rifle and found a relatively flat piece of land near the foot of the mountain to build a sufficiently spacious and sturdy factory where he transferred the machine tools.
To better manage the indigenous work, he even moved out of the cave and lived directly in the factory.
The indigenous people did the same. Except for the shepherd who had recovered, the rest, including Saturday and Sunday, moved away from the mountainside to live and eat next to the factory with Chen Zhou.
Indigenous people responsible for caring for the farmland went up the mountain every few days to weed and water; those without tasks followed Chen Zhou around all day.
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Having decided to use the building materials to construct the factory, the first issue Chen Zhou resolved was site selection.
While reinforced concrete buildings are sturdy, they cannot be directly used as fortresses and should not be built on the coast. Such positioning not only exposes them to storm impacts but also provides enemies with opportunities to land.
A fortress impervious to cannon attack might not withstand a swarm of infantry, especially on an island critically short of personnel, making this particularly urgent.
Of course, building on the coastline isn't entirely without merit. If the island can indeed develop into a thriving maritime supply station capable of gathering various resources, factories closer to the port will offer significant convenience in transportation.
But considering such issues now is clearly premature.
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To find a suitable site for building the factory, Chen Zhou searched around the foot of the mountain for three whole days.
Forests he hadn't visited before, unexplored river ends, even steep cliffs, lush green plains...
Carrying a backpack, a sleeping bag, food, and Lai Fu, who was tired of being cooped up at home, he mapped the area, selected locations, and continued forward.
It was worth noting that during these three days of wanderings, Chen Zhou made quite a few new discoveries.
He found new fruits, new types of stones, new tree species, new flowers, and even new animals, which he had never seen before.
Additionally, at the foot of the mountain, he discovered a new cave.
This cave wasn't as concealed as Pigeon Cave; its entrance was wide and tall, and the interior space was about half the size of a football field. The terrain was relatively flat and could be slightly modified for use as a shelter.
Inside this cave, Chen Zhou also found many quartz rocks and crystal-like minerals.
Unfortunately, these minerals hadn't formed over a long period, so their purity was far from jewelry grade, with many impurities dashing his dreams of getting rich.
Deep inside the cave, the terrain gradually sloped downwards, and traces of water erosion could be seen on the rock surfaces. Yet, despite several turns in the cave, Chen Zhou couldn't find any groundwater.
He estimated that many years ago, there might have been groundwater here, but it dried up eventually due to lack of replenishment.
Since exploring the cave alone with only Lai Fu, and the cave's depths were too dark without signs of any biological activity other than insects, Chen Zhou chose not to venture deeper. He just marked the cave on his hand-drawn map.
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After careful consideration, Chen Zhou finally selected a sloped piece of land adjacent to the river as the site for the factory.
The primary reason for choosing this location was its sufficiently expansive terrain, which would allow for further expansion after the factory's completion.
Moreover, this site is high enough to oversee the entire forest. Should more distant observation be necessary, he can climb the mountain path upward and reach the summit in no time.
Additionally, it possesses excellent geological conditions; the soil is solid, minimizing efforts for reinforcement while digging for the foundation, saving considerable work.
Furthermore, it's not far from the river. The river may not be very wide, but a canoe can pass; materials can be transported by water, speeding up the delivery of various building supplies here.
If the island eventually constructs a port, the river itself could be widened further, facilitating the waterborne transport of industrial materials.
Aside from this, being right next to the forest means plenty of stone resources can be gathered, easing the acquisition of basic fuels and building materials.
By felling the nearest woodland, an obstacle-free isolation zone can be created, complicating access for those with ill intentions.
This area is far enough from the coastline that no cannons of the 17th century or even World War I could directly hit it from the sea.
If enemies want to attack the factory, they must first land, bring their cannons ashore, then gradually advance while overcoming the complex terrain Chen Zhou created and resist repeated attacks before getting within attack range of the factory.
Chen Zhou felt that, possessing far surpassing weapon technology and resources, if in such a home-field advantage he were beaten back to his doorstep, he might as well find a rope and hang himself.
Understanding the pattern of mysterious rewards, he chose without hesitation to continue down the path of blood and fire because he had confidence—
Possessing technology levels more than four hundred years ahead of his time, plus the flowing tide of supplies sent to the island continuously.
As long as he doesn't directly clash with the major powers of the Age of Discovery at this stage and navigates quietly for more than a decade, defeat is impossible.
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After selecting the factory site, Chen Zhou devoted himself for over half a month to designing the factory structure, delineating specific functional areas, reviewing the simplified production methods for explosive materials, and from those, filtering out crucial materials requiring the highest standards for production tools ready for priority construction.